LoL Betting Odds – IEM Oakland 2016 Semifinals:

LoL Predictions Semifinals IEM Oakland

Semifinals #1: Team SoloMid vs. Unicorns of Love

Start Time: November 20th, 10:00 AM PDT / 02:00 PM EDT / 19:00 CEST

TSM have great track records against international team, a possible World Championship title and so much more! But even though were they unable to press very far into the World Champion they had proven to be a huge threat, with their starter Marksman stepping down for the spring split TSM roster changed and this could end up being exploited there! Make sure you catch the games to see if the Unicorns of Love can come out on top; the 20th November. The games go live on 09:30 PST / 12:30 EST!

Unicorns of Love – UoL have often been a difficult team to overcome and after their phenomenal IEM Oakland Day 1 series against ITZ, they’re looking stronger than ever. Coming into a series with another victory from day 1 would put Unicorns of Love in an extremely confident role, this confidence can lead to an early first blood and can open up entire games for them.

Team Solo Mid – TSM have a fantastic track record against International teams but with how aggressive UoL can be during the earlier stages of the game TSM might need to avoid a lot of those early game skirmishes. TSM will want to look for engagements around the middle and later stages of the game, this will let them regain any control they lost or can propel them into a phenomenal lead that will push UoL back significantly.

Team Solo Mid look to be in a fairly strong position here, they’re a world class team and have regularly practiced against the top teams in the world. Experience like that doesn’t disappear when a roster is changed and because of their vast amounts of experience I think they’re in an advantageous situation right from the start. Unicorns of Love are going to need to turn on the aggression during the earlier stages to try and snowball their lanes and build a lead significant enough to hold them through the middle stage team fighting.

Prediction: Team Solo Mid Victory. TSM have already proven to be a stronger team when the European region failed at the World Championship and the Unicorns of Love were unable to even qualify! Because of recent meta and map changes I think UoL will come up and surprised us but TSM will eventually take the series win.

Semifinals #2: Flash Wolves vs. Longzhu Gaming

Start Time: November 20th, 01:30 PM PDT / 05:30 PM EDT / 22:30 CEST

The Flash Wolves have always been a difficult opponent; they managed to make a lot happen during their run at the World Championship and even though they didn’t come out on top of it they managed to get some extremely valuable practice in against the best teams in the world! Longzhu Gaming are going to need to watch out for the Flash Wolves aggression, if they can do that then they’ll be in a great position to take control of the game in the middle and later stages! But will it work that well for them? We’ll have to wait and see! The matches go live on Sunday, November 20th, at 13:30 PST / 17:30 EST!

Flash Wolves – Roster changes that have happened recently could set the team back, but with their motivated aggression and powerful map movements along with their aggression I’d like to think that a single player change couldn’t change their performances that much. Flash Wolves have practiced against all of the top teams in the world and I think their experience will show throughout the series.

Longzhu Gaming – LZ have had a phenomenal time so far at IEM Oakland, after taking away 2 clean victories on day 1 they were able to proceed and be placed against the Flash Wolves. It’s going to be a challenge for this Korean team, as Flash Wolves are their regions kryptonite. LZ will need to take care in the earlier stages of the game and will want to pick off their opponents or should aim to create small and controlled skirmishes.

Flash Wolves look to be in an advantageous position here, they have a formidable track record against Korean Teams and they’re often seen as the Korean destroyers because they’re able to shift the control of their games so well. Their aggressive strategies could quickly build them a lead which can be turned into map or objective control. If it reaches a stage like that then FW will be in the driver seat completely and LZ will have a hard time catching back up! Longzhu Gaming could throw out some of their own aggressive plays in the earlier stages of the game to make it through and it’ll also open them up to contest the middle stage fights where they can build a significant lead to gain control of the game.

Prediction: Flash Wolves Victory. Flash Wolves are a top team in the world, they’re extremely well experienced and have shown that they can adapt on a minor and major level, be it their composition or strategies to use while in the game to slow down or speed up the pace in their favour. Because of their experience with aggression and control I think FW will pull ahead in the series!